Ruger · Carbine
Ruger AC-556F
Gas operated short stroke · 5.56x45mm NATO · introduced 1980
Also known as AC-556 Folding Stock, AC556F
About the Ruger AC-556F
The Ruger AC-556F is the stainless-steel, folding-stock version of the select-fire AC-556, Sturm Ruger's military and police variant of the Mini-14. It retains the AC-556's 18.5-inch barrel and rear-receiver fire selector offering semi-automatic, three-round burst, and full-automatic fire, but mounts a side-folding aluminum stock with full pistol grip in place of the fixed wooden stock. Chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO and feeding from 20- or 30-round magazines, it served as a compact, corrosion-resistant carbine for security, prison, and law-enforcement users.
Because pre-1986 select-fire AC-556 rifles remain transferable on the civilian machine-gun registry, surviving examples command prices many times their original cost among collectors.
Ruger AC-556F specifications
General
- Type
- Carbine
- Action
- Gas operated short stroke
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer-fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Calibres
- 5.56x45mm NATO
- Magazine capacity
- 20 rounds
- Magazine
- Detachable box magazine
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 470 mm (18.5 in)
- Overall length
- 984 mm (38.7 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 2.89 kg (6.37 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling twist
- 1:10 in (254 mm)
- Rifling
- Right hand
- Grooves
- 6
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Stock
- Aluminum
- Finish
- stainless_steel
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 1036 m/s (3399 fps)
- Effective range
- 200 m
History
- Introduced
- 1980
- Discontinued
- 1999
- Production status
- Out of production
- Country of origin
- US
- Designer
- L. James Sullivan
Features
- Folding stock
- Pistol grip
- Flash suppressor
- Bayonet lug
- Fire mode selector
Safety
- Manual safety
- Selector lever safety
The 'F' suffix denotes the folding-stock stainless configuration with the full-length 18.5-inch barrel; the AC-556K is a separate short-barrel (about 13-inch) folding-stock model. Sources occasionally conflate the two. Caliber dimensional data is for the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge.
This is a variant of the Ruger AC-556.
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